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Charity boss 'concerned about government dementia action'

The chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society has expressed concerns that the government may not be able to deliver on its proposals for transforming dementia care, it has been reported.

Neil Hunt indicated that he is increasingly concerned about how much of the Department of Health's draft proposals will be implemented due to the current economic climate, according to the Herald.

He suggested that rapid change is needed in the way the country's dementia patients are cared for, it added.

According to the newspaper, Mr Hunt wants to see improved levels of awareness about the condition, both in the public and medical profession: "We are concerned that many individuals and their families struggle to cope with changes in people's behaviours, worrying changes, without knowing what it is or what to do."

He added that "we will have serious reason to complain" if, in two to three years' time, we are not seeing substantial improvements in the diagnosis and care services offered to people who may have dementia.

On the BBC's Panorama programme earlier this week, the author Terry Pratchett criticised the decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to restrict the availability of Alzheimer's drug Aricept on the NHS.